My local take
Port Royal sits at the very tip of the Palisadoes, the long sand spit that closes off Kingston Harbour. In the 1600s it was, in the Jamaica Information Service’s words, the virtual capital of Jamaica and a base for buccaneers, which is where the “richest and wickedest city in the world” name comes from. Then the earthquake of June 7, 1692 sank a large part of the town into the sea. What is left today is a small fishing village with Fort Charles, the first fort built at Port Royal, a building tipped sideways by a later earthquake, and a sunken city under the water. In July 2025 UNESCO added the archaeological ensemble of 17th-century Port Royal to its World Heritage List.
The story starts before the pirates. The Jamaica Information Service, or JIS, says the Tainos used the sand spit as a fishing camp and the Spanish used it to clean and refit their ships, and the English started fortifying it as soon as they took Jamaica in 1655. Henry Morgan, the best known of the buccaneers based here, sacked Spanish towns including Portobelo, Maracaibo and Panama. After the 1692 earthquake, about two-fifths of the population died in the quake or the disease that followed. Survivors rebuilt, but a fire destroyed the mostly wooden new town in 1703, and after hurricanes in 1712, 1722 and 1726 the merchants moved across the harbor to Kingston, which became the capital in 1872. The 1907 earthquake then tipped the Giddy House to the angle it still sits at.
It suits anyone who likes history, and it works for families because the fort is compact and the Giddy House is fun for children. Don’t come expecting a big museum complex: the sights are small and close together, and the village itself is quiet most of the week. On a Sunday, half of Kingston drives out for fish. My take: go on a weekday morning for the fort, then stay for lunch by the water, and pair it with the city sights the same day. I couldn’t find an official notice of Fort Charles’s current hours or fees, so check with the Port Authority of Jamaica before you make the trip just for the fort.
Make a day of it: Lime Cay, the small sand cay off Port Royal where Kingston goes on a Sunday afternoon, works in the afternoon, and my list of historical sites in Jamaica has more places like this one. Back in the city, Devon House and the Bob Marley Museum make an easy second half of the day. For everything else in the capital, see my Kingston guide. Port Royal is a day trip, not a place to stay: base yourself in New Kingston or along Hope Road, where most of the city’s hotels and restaurants are.
How to get there
From New Kingston: drive or take a taxi east around the harbor and out along the Palisadoes road, past Norman Manley International Airport, to the end of the spit. It is roughly 25 to 30 km (map distance, approximate), usually under an hour outside rush hour. The road is flat, open and easy in daylight.
From the airport: Port Royal is only a few minutes past Norman Manley International, so it fits neatly on a day you arrive or leave Kingston.
By cruise ship: Port Royal has its own cruise terminal, which first received a ship in January 2020. Cruise Industry News reported that the port was open again after Hurricane Melissa, with the first post-storm call in December 2025.
From the north coast: Kingston is a long day from Ocho Rios or Montego Bay. If you are coming that far, a night in Kingston makes more sense than a rushed round trip.
What to expect
Fort Charles. This was the first fort the English built at Port Royal, in the late 1650s. It was first called Fort Cromwell and then renamed Fort Charles. By 1667 it had 36 guns, and by 1765 it had 104 guns and a garrison of 500 men. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust, or JNHT, says the fort is operated by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ). After a restoration, the PAJ reopened it in February 2020 with tours by costumed storytellers, a museum room, the officers’ quarters and magazine, the Victoria Battery and cannon displays outside. The PAJ said then that it would run whether or not a ship was in port, and asked large groups to book ahead.
The Giddy House. Built in 1888 as the Royal Artillery Store for the Victoria Battery, it was knocked to its present tilt of about 45 degrees by the 1907 earthquake. Walk inside and your balance goes, which is how it got the name. The PAJ built a replica beside the original to help preserve it.
Plumb Point Lighthouse and St Peter’s Church. You pass the lighthouse on the Palisadoes road. The JIS says it was built in 1853 near the entrance to Kingston Harbour, a 70-foot tower of stone and cast iron. In the village, St Peter’s Church is one of the stops the JNHT has included with the fort and museum on its Earthquake Awareness Day tours.
The sunken city. The part of the town that went under in 1692 is a protected underwater archaeological site, not a dive attraction. A JNHT director told the JIS that about 13 acres sit under water and only about one per cent has been researched. The JIS puts the death toll from the earthquake at about 2,000 people. A new Port Royal museum building was built as part of the cruise terminal project, but I couldn’t find an official notice that it has opened, so don’t plan around it.
Fish by the water. Port Royal is where Kingston comes for fried or steamed fish with bammy and festival, especially on Sundays. Gloria’s is the name most Kingstonians will give you; there are other cookshops along the water too. Ask what fish came in that day, and ask the price before they cook it.
Local tips
- Call or message the Port Authority of Jamaica before you go to confirm the fort is open and what entry costs; I couldn't find current hours or fees published officially.
- Go on a weekday morning if you want the fort quiet. Come on a Sunday afternoon if you want the village lively and the fish spots full.
- Carry cash in Jamaican dollars for food and small purchases, even if you plan to pay by card.
- Bring a hat and water. The spit is flat and open, with little shade around the fort in the middle of the day.
- Ask your taxi driver for a price that includes waiting time, or agree a pickup time, so you aren't stuck at the end of the Palisadoes.
Before you go
- Fort Charles’s current opening hours and entry fees weren’t published by the PAJ or the JNHT when I checked, so confirm before you travel.
- The sights are small. Port Royal is a half-day trip, not a full day, unless you add the city.
- The fort has uneven old stone floors, steps and ramparts; the tilted Giddy House is hard going for anyone with balance or mobility problems.
- The sunken city can’t be visited; it is a protected archaeological site.
- On Sundays the village and the road out can get busy with Kingston families heading for fish.
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Questions people ask
Is Port Royal open after Hurricane Melissa?
The town and its cruise port are. Kingston wasn’t among the parishes the Prime Minister listed as worst hit, and Cruise Industry News reported that Port Royal welcomed its first ship after the storm in December 2025. I couldn’t find an official notice of Fort Charles’s current hours, so check with the Port Authority of Jamaica before you go.
Why is Port Royal called the wickedest city in the world?
In the 1600s Port Royal was a base for buccaneers who brought in treasure taken from Spanish ships and towns. Henry Morgan was the best known; he was later knighted, made Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica and died at Port Royal in 1688. The money, rum and loose living gave the town its name.
What is the Giddy House in Port Royal?
It is the old Royal Artillery Store for the Victoria Battery, built in 1888. The 1907 earthquake tipped it to an angle of about 45 degrees, and walking inside throws off your balance, which is where the name comes from.
How much does it cost to visit Fort Charles?
The Port Authority of Jamaica, which runs the fort, did not have current entry fees published when I checked. The last official figures are from the 2020 reopening and are likely out of date, so ask the PAJ before you go.
Is Port Royal a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Yes. The archaeological ensemble of 17th-century Port Royal was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2025.
What happened to Port Royal in 1692?
On June 7, 1692, an earthquake destroyed the town and a large part of it sank into the sea. The JIS puts the death toll at about 2,000. Survivors rebuilt, but after a fire in 1703 and hurricanes in 1712, 1722 and 1726 the merchants moved across the harbor to Kingston.
Can you dive the sunken city of Port Royal?
No. The sunken city is a protected underwater archaeological site, not a dive attraction. A JNHT director told the JIS that about 13 acres sit under water and only about one per cent has been researched. The trust has shown artefacts recovered from it at its Earthquake Awareness Day events at Fort Charles.
How do you get to Port Royal from Kingston?
By taxi or car, east around the harbor and out along the Palisadoes road past Norman Manley International Airport to the end of the spit, usually under an hour from New Kingston outside rush hour. Agree the taxi fare, including any waiting time, before you set off.
Sources & updates
- JIS: Kingston heritage sites (Port Royal history, Henry Morgan, 1703 fire and later hurricanes, Fort Charles, Giddy House, Plumb Point Lighthouse) · checked
- JIS: St Catherine heritage sites (capital moved to Kingston in 1872) · checked
- Jamaica National Heritage Trust: Fort Charles (operated by the Port Authority of Jamaica) · checked
- JIS: 500-year-old heritage site to provide a new experience (Fort Charles reopening and features, Feb 2020) · checked
- JIS: Earthquake victims to be remembered June 7 (death toll, underwater site, St Peter's Church tour, artefacts) · checked
- Jamaica Gleaner: Court of Appeal clears path for Port Royal hotel sale (May 6, 2026; UNESCO listing July 2025, cruise terminal opened January 2020) · checked
- Jamaica Observer: Port Royal Museum to open in May (Mar 26, 2024; museum building and funding) · checked
- Cruise Industry News: main Jamaica cruise ports, including Port Royal, open after the hurricane (Dec 2025) · checked
- Office of the Prime Minister: statement to Parliament on the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa (worst-hit parishes) · checked
- Afar: 'Just 3 Months After Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica Is Ready for Travelers' (Jan 2026; Kingston open, cruise ports operational) · checked
- OpenStreetMap: Fort Charles, Port Royal (map location) · checked
Update log
- — New researched guide; history, fort details and post-hurricane status checked against official sources. Fort Charles hours and fees not published officially, so left out.
- — Merged in the blog post Port Royal, Jamaica: History and What to See (post 6953, now redirected here): added the Taino-to-Kingston history, Plumb Point Lighthouse and St Peter's Church, the Lime Cay and where-to-stay pointers, and FAQs on the 1692 earthquake, diving the sunken city and getting there. Facts re-checked against JIS. Fort Charles hours and fees still not published officially.
- — Moved source citations out of the text
Spotted something out of date? Tell me and I’ll check it.